Author Archives: othslibrary

Next week, March 3-7 is Digital Citizenship Week in Katy ISD. This is a week to promote responsible use in our digital age and to teach students and staff to be responsible and safe in the digital world. During Digital Citizenship Week, OTHS will be providing multiple events and resources to get all Falcons thinking about digital citizenship. One way to show our enthusiasm about Digital Citizenship Week is to participate in dress up days! Join in the fun!

Monday, March 3rd
Create a positive digital footprint – Wear your crazy socks and/or shoes

Tuesday, March 4th
Cyber bullying isn’t a team sport – Wear your favorite college team shirt

Wednesday, March 5th
Giving credit and copyright protection – Dress in identical (copy) outfits with one or more of your friends

Thursday, March 6th
Online Safety – Dress up like a public servant (Fireman, policeman, park ranger, teacher, librarian, etc.)

Friday, March 7th
Responsible Use Spirit – Wear Tompkins’s spirit shirts

Other Resources:

Cyber Saftey for Secondary Students (Katy ISD)

What you do online can affect your whole world

Cyberbullying FAQ for teens (National Crime Prevention Council)

image credit: Keystone Area Education Agency

March Madness is approaching, but why should basketball fans have all the fun? At the Tompkins Library you can help name a Falcon teen book champion. Through a series of votes, we are narrowing our list of the 16 most popular teen books to one grand champion that will be named on March 31^st. To participate, start reading the selected books and get ready for our first contest starting March 3^rd.

How It Works:

• Read the Sweet 16 books selected by the library.
• Round 1: Vote March 3-7 for the Elite 8.
• Round 2: Vote March 17-21 for the Final 4.
• Round 3: Vote March 24-28 for the final two contending titles.
• March 31: The champion is announced!

Voting:

• Visit the March Madness Teen Book Tournament blog page to vote for your favorite books

   or

• Scan the QR codes that will be on the wall display during voting times.

March Madness Teen Book Tournament Finalists

•  “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner
• “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
•  “Reality Boy” by A. S. King
•  “Legend” by Marie Lu
•  “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green
• “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer
•  “Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25” by Richard Paul Evans
• “Rot & Ruin” by Jonathan Maberry
• “Graceling” by Kristin Cashore
• “Curveball: the year I lost my grip” by Jordan Sonnenblick
• “Girl, Stolen” by April Henry
•  “Maggot Moon” by Sally Gardner
• “The Darkest Minds” by Alexandra Bracken
•  “Virals” by Kathy Reichs
• “The Testing” by Joelle Charbonneau
•  “The 5^th Wave” by Rick Yancy

 

*Special thanks to the Tompkins Theater department for the Gaff tape used for our display!

We have had so many students come into the library the past couple of weeks to check out blind dates. I even believe we have had a few students fall in love!

The Tompkins Faculty got in on the blind date fun by sharing their worst date ever, which put them in the drawing for a blind date with a book (complete with book flowers and chocolate)!

We had many entries, but our counselor secretary, Myra H. was the big winner! Read her worst date story HERE!

Congratulations, Myra!

The library hosted the first ever board game day in the library after school today. Students enjoyed some friendly competition and yummy popcorn. They enjoyed it so much that they have requested it become a monthly event. Hmmm…

The Falcon IPC class researched famous scientists this week in the library. They used their creativity and created an online comic strip to display their scientists background, education, major contributions, etc.

Let the creativity begin…

Here is an example created by one of our talented students who researched Marie Curie.

I’m still reading THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY by Laurie Halse Anderson and am planning to finish it this weekend. All I can say is WOW! Such vivid characters and a story that really touches my heart. I highly recommend this book!

Check out the book trailer!

The 2014 Winter Olympics began in Sochi yesterday. Are you watching? Do you have a favorite Olympic event? The library will be keeping a medal count, so stop by often and see how the teams are doing!

For more information on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games visit the official website at www.sochi2014.com

Also, stop by our February display case as we celebrate Black History Month by recognizing famous African Americans.

Online resources for Black History Month:

http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history-month

If you haven’t installed the Catalist Digital audiobook app on your device yet, do it NOW! Forgot how? Click HERE.

Our library has purchased over 1,000 digital audiobooks for your enjoyment. Join our freshman students and start listening now!

For the past few years, I have volunteered at a local Teen Book Convention called TeenBookCon at Alief Taylor HS in Houston. This year, I have the pleasure of serving on the board. We are feverishly planning for 29 authors to speak with students, answer questions, and of course, sign books! Please visit the website, twitter, and facebook for all the latest author announcements! You do not want to miss this event on April 26, 2014!

The opening speaker is the one and only Laurie Halse Anderson. Her newest book THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY was just released! So, I will be reading it this weekend.

 The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Copyright © 2014 Follett Library Resources, Inc.

What are you reading this weekend? Post it to the blog!